ASP.NET MVC 2 has powerful features for generating the model-dependent content of the Edit view (using EditorForModel) and Details view (using DisplayForModel) that automatically utilizes metadata and editor (or display) templates:
<% using (Html.BeginForm()) {%>
<%= Html.ValidationSummary(true) %>
<fieldset>
<legend><%= Html.LabelForModel() %></legend>
<%= Html.EditorForModel() %>
<p>
<input type="submit" value="Save" />
</p>
</fieldset>
<% } %>
However, I cannot find any comparable tools for the "last" step of generating the Index view (a.k.a. the List view). There I have to hard code the columns first in the row representing the headers and then inside the foreach loop:
<h2>Index</h2>
<table>
<tr>
<th></th>
<th>
ID
</th>
<th>
Foo
</th>
<th>
Bar
</th>
</tr>
<% foreach (var item in Model) { %>
<tr>
<td>
<%= Html.ActionLink("Edit", "Edit", new { id=item.ID }) %> |
<%= Html.ActionLink("Details", "Details", new { id=item.ID })%> |
<%= Html.ActionLink("Delete", "Delete", new { id=item.ID })%>
</td>
<td>
<%= Html.Encode(item.ID) %>
</td>
<td>
<%= Html.Encode(item.Foo) %>
</td>
<td>
<%= Html.Encode(String.Format("{0:g}", item.Bar)) %>
</td>
</tr>
<% } %>
</table>
What would be the best way to generate the columns (utlizing metadata such as HiddenInput), with the aim of making the Index view as free of model particulars as Edit and Details?